Trump Is Wrong, Little Haiti Goes for Hillary 19 to 1

In last night's presidential debate, Republican nominee Donald Trump said he was "at Little Haiti the other day in Florida... I want to tell you, they hate the Clintons, because what's happened in Haiti with the Clinton Foundation is a disgrace. And you know it, and they know it, and everybody knows it."

An hour spent in Little Haiti this morning showed that statement to be demonstrably false.

Interviews with 20 random neighborhood residents — at a church, a convenience store, and on the street — turned up opinions that were unwaveringly in favor of Hillary Clinton.

Joseph Aussiny, a 56-year-old cab driver who came to the United States from the island in 1980, said, "I love Hillary for so many things. She has been doing public service for 30 years, and her husband was the best for the economy. He called her 'nasty' last night. No, no, no. Miss Hillary is not nasty; she is a lady with education.

Sandra Lormon, 45, who was born in Haiti and lives in Miami's Little Haiti, says Trump's statement is "not true."

Photo by Chuck Strouse

Sandra Lormon, a 56-year-old mother of ten children, all of whom live in the United States, agreed that Trump's statement is "not true." She arrived in the United States in 1987. "Trump said deport all immigrants. I am an immigrant. I love Clinton." (For the record, Trump has referred to deporting only illegal immigrants.)

Bernard Anderson, a 25-year-old pastry chef, was born in the United States and lives in Little Haiti. His mom is Haitian, and his dad is Bahamian. "We don't like Donald Trump at all. He is racist. When he came to Little Haiti, he was not welcome." Anderson said he has already voted early — for Clinton.

Across the street, at the First Interdenominational Church at NW 59th Street and Second Avenue, 66-year-old Phillip Johnson, who came to the States from the island 40 years ago, said, "I think Hillary is the best. How many times can I vote? Twenty times for Clinton."

I polled 15 others who stood around him. Most were Haitian-Americans, but there were some Latinos as well. All said they lived in Little Haiti. And with one exception — a Hispanic woman who declined to say who she was voting for — all said they support Clinton over Trump. Asked specifically whether they had issues with the Clinton Foundation's work on the island, all said no.

When I asked one of them, Sweet Cohens, age 56, why she supports Clinton, the former Miami-Dade County Public Schools food service worker responded, "I put it this way: I am for women's lib."

Chuck Strouse is editor-in-chief of Miami New Times. He has shared in two Pulitzer Prizes and won dozens of other state local and national awards. He is an honors graduate of Brown University and has worked at multiple newspapers including the Miami Herald, Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel and Los Angeles Times.